Monday, December 28, 2009

Craig James is scheduled to call the Alamo Bowl on Saturday, but this time he'll be a part of the storyline. Craig James' son Adam plays for Texas Tech (who's playing in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan State), and recently suffered a concussion. Adam wanted to sit out a practice or two, but apparently Tech Coach Mike Leach did not taken kindly to that idea. He (allegedly) ordered a trainer to put Adam in an electrical closet, to which (surprisingly) Papa James did not take kindly to....

Sources told ESPN's Joe Schad that the Jameses felt Adam was treated inappropriately by Leach because he was unable to practice after a mild concussion. A source close to the James family told Schad that Leach directed a trainer to confine him to an equipment room for three hours and, days later, told a trainer to place James in an electrical closet. An attorney for Leach said that while James was secluded twice, the circumstances were not as portrayed by the James family.

"Mr. and Mrs. James took the step with great regret and after consideration and prayer to convey to the Texas Tech administration that their son had been subjected to actions and treatment not consistent with common sense rules for safety and health," the family said in a statement released on Monday.

Well then. Texas Tech has now suspended Leach for the Alamo Bowl and he could be facing even further action following an investigation. ESPN certainly protects their own, so I'd be worried if I were him.

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Comments:

On the Lubbock newspaper site, some mouth-breathers are calling James' kid a wuss and not really concussed and a mama's boy.

They're also irate that all of the hard work and sacrifice is going for naught, and this will distract them from the blessed Alamo Bowl. Oh, and that Leach is a 'pirate' and brashly doesn't follow rules he doesn't like.

Well, I think their brains were concussed many times. Oh, wait, it is Lubbock, Texas. Never mind...

Exactly how much of your brain would you have to leave in your other pirate suit to dick around Craig James' kid, even if you thought he was full of crap? 20%? 50%? Was Leach suffering from a concussion at the time? If he did what he is accused of doing he is (1) a dick (2) a MORON especially since this happened after the Mangino situation at Kansas and (3) asking to be fired.

check CBSSports.com and its coverage of this situation, specifically Dennis Dodd's article citing current and former coaches and players who all have a very negative opinion of Adam James. Even if this is a case of circling the wagons around Leach, why has ESPN not even deigned to mention it (as of 3:00 today)? ESPN's coverage of sports has become ridiculous, especially when one of its own is involved.

That Adam James was not the team star is no secret. But what the Tech/Leach faction ignores is that you do NOT take a kid who has a diagnosed head injury and place them in what amounts to a TuffShed under guard. I am betting that this wasn't a single incident, but instead the straw that broke the Tech Board's back. Leach may be colorful and he may have won a few games, but a coach who commands through fear rather than respect is one who will resort to abuse if not kept in check. Is there any question that Leach's public comments have been odd? And if you take the iceberg example of only ten percent of what happens is made public, well let's just say there's a story there if someone wants to dig. And it's not about James or his family.

Most of the announcers have sent me screaming from the room in this bowl season. Obvious bias toward one team or another is very frustrating, especially when the bias is against my team. However the announcing for the Alamo Bowl was very pleasant. Both announcers gave kudos to both teams and got excited about plays made by each. Congrats. I haven't had to say one bad thing tonight.

Agreed for once. The Rose Bowl seemed to have a Ohio State bias, but tonight.. Mike Patrick (as much as I loathe him and his stupid nature) has actually been bearable. A shame he couldn't call a game this year when Greg Paulus was playing at the 'Cuse.

Anybody who says there's not a bias towards one team or another during the Alamo Bowl announcing is not listening to the same game as me. I am neither a Michigan State nor Texas Tech fan but it is disgusting to me about how biased the announcers are. "You can't score field goals against Texas Tech and win!" Not to mention the entire game being back story of the Texas Tech team and nothing about Michigan State. It is insanely annoying. It's like John Madden's man-crush on Brett Favre. Super lame. Only Texas Tech fans would say this isn't a biased game. You Tech fans could use a little bit more objectivity, that's for sure...